Sophie said, "We work full time for the NHS for free while we train and now they are bringing in fees. The next batch of student nurses will graduate with £27,000 of debt on a starting salary of just £21,000. They need to recruit more nurses and this is not the way to go about it."

Harriet was angry about social care cuts. "There are elderly people blocked in hospital who can't go home because the service has been cut. That's the reason we have shortages in winter, and everyone knows it - it's the worst-kept secret."

There are lots of banners from Constituency Labour Party and union branches on the march.

Years of budget cuts and privatisation are pushing the NHS past breaking point.

Keith, chair of the Hands Off Our Horton campaign in Oxfordshire, told Socialist Worker, "The plans have nothing to do with improving patient care. They are about putting through cuts.

"We've had local demonstrations, but we needed to come on the national one."

"They are an excuse for pushing through what they've wanted to put through for years."

Carving up England into 44 "footprints", the STPs aim to slash £22 billion by 2020-21.

Terry and Pauline are Unison union members who are part of the campaign to save the women's hospital in Merseyside. Terry told Socialist Worker, "If they close the women's hospital, pregnant women won't have specialist services and will have to travel further.

"We've had local demonstrations, but we needed to come on the national one."

Pauline added, "We need to take collective action, there's a strength of feeling and this is about showing that.

"It also gives us strength to fight locally."

As well as pushing through budget cuts, the Tories are attempting to turn people's anger at their attacks onto migrant workers.

Jordan, a student from Stoke, told Socialist Worker, "The Tories are giving tax break to corporations and the rich and trying to blame vulnerable people and migrants.

He added, "Some people read the newspapers and just believe what they say, but others are starting to look deeper and reject the scapegoating."

Admin worker Bex from Manchester said the NHS crisis was "frightening".

"My friend's dad spent 14 hours on a trolley having seizures because they had no beds. Then they sent him home because the waiting queue for the MRI scanner was too long, and gave him the wrong medicine because they were so overstretched."

But she disagreed with the Tories blaming "health tourism".

"Immigrants made the NHS what it is, it would collapse overnight if they got rid of immigrants. If they taxed the big corporations we could easily afford the NHS, but they don't do that because they don't want to make their friends pay."